Stamp-canceling machine



Jan. 16, 1923. .1,44232871 C. A. MAT-TERN.

STAMP CANGELING MACHINE. FILED MAR. fa. 92o.

min ess.

Patented Jan. 16, 1923.

ontain A. MATTERN, oF DES MoINEs, IOWA;

' 'smm-cmNcEMNG MACHINE;

lpylicatio'n filedrmarch 16, 1920.' 'Serial No. 3664l9.

'To au -wlom dt 'ma/y floncm:

it known `;that I, -CARRIE A. MA'HER'N, a oit izen'pf the United States, and a i esident of Des;Mo'ines, in the County of Polkand 5 State of Iowa have invented a certain new and` useful Stamp-'Cancelingj Machine, of which theifollowing is j a specification.

The ;object of'my devceis' to vproyde a stamp canceling machine of simple, durable -aIId DGXPQHSVQ Construction;

A- further *object is ;to pro-vide a 'machine adapted-to receive a--roll ofstamps andiprovided 'with stamp canceling device wherethen re-rolled back` 'to their 'original :position.

.Dhe-Post Office Department, through post- =m'aster s s ells ?pre-canceled stamps in sheet form, -loostamps to thesheet. 4 V a To the individuals and firms who use -stamps in 1arge"quantities, the* advantages.

-of using pre canceled -stamps are as fllows:

First: 'Dhe *mail stamped with .pre-canceled stamps reaches the addressee 'in the best :possible condition, because it does-nothave -t0 *go 'through the canceling machine at the post office. These machines mutilateo de- 'stroy thepiejces ofmail to quite-anextent.

Second: Mail 'stamped with` vpre=canceled st-amps reaches consignee in less time because the necessity of canceling after it reach'es the -post oflice is obviated. Such mail can be worked immediatelyafter reaching 'the post ofiice, because ot -not having'to wait for` its turn'in `goingthrough the stamp canceling, machine i Third: Delivery of mail 'stamped with pre-canceled Stamps 'to consig'nee can be further hastened because of the fact that 40 such mail can be tied up in directgpackag'es by the sende', o-'stated 01' madeup by railwaypost oflice routes which enables the post oflicezin a large number of cases to send "the mail direct to the raihzoad mail cars withoutgeven opening themal sacks Mechanical stampng machines for :placing: stamps onenvelopes are on the market and are being used' by many concernsthat send out large quantities of letters, circular :by the -roll}of -stamps-may he canceled and letters, circulars, etc.

A s'tamping machine will stamp ifrom 4000 to OOQBDVG lQPGS per hour, .thus'en abling one 'worker to do the work 'of six or Seven. wof-kers. 7

Mechanical stamping machines require the uselof s'tamps in. rolls,the rolls 'consisting of '500' to 1000 stamps.

Pre'cancldstamps can be. btai ed frm u 'the Post Office Department in sheet'form but they cannot 'be obtained from the Post Office Department in roll form. Hence the necessity of the use of astamp canceling machine such as I have invented, which will cancel stamps in rolls before-they are placed v on" envelopes or wrappers by a mechanical stamping machine or hand machine where rolls are used.

By providing a machine 'for pre-canceling" rolled s'tamps and then rolling the stamps back tothei' original ,position after they are canceled, so that they maybe used uponthe r mailing machine', does away with acigreat amount of work and delay, which would otherwise be experienced, if it were necessary to 'stamp each parcel or 'letter separately. TheGovernment now sellspre-canceled stamps, `but does not'sell 'them in 'the rolledform. V

4 My device is especially adapted'for canceling ro'lled" stamps, and provided'with a spindle or the like, whereby the stamps, after they afre c'anceled,-may be re rolledg and placed in 'the positionthat theyare when they are "first purchased' from theGovernment. v I, v

Still a further object 'of my -device is to proyide a printing roller, which' isprovided withthe canceli'ng marlg'the printing 'mllef being: designed to rotate, ,causing animpression" to bemade upon each stamp ast p'asses 'below theprinting roller. i i

:Still afui'ther object is toprovide amachne for canceling-stamp's, which is'pro- :Vided with'a prnting roller, whichi's rotatably mounted within a pivoted"fi'ame member, the pvoted frame' member i being a'dapt ed when in one position to permit ready access for starting the roll of stamps from one roller to the other roller.

Still a further object is to provide a' spindle for first placing the roll of stamps on, and then another spindle for winding the stamps onto after they have been canceled, and still another spindle for re-rolling the stamps back to their original position` the spindles being so adapted that they may be removed from their bearings for permitting the rolled stamps to be removed.

With these and other objects in view. my invention consists in the Construction, arrangement ,and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed 'outin my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my improved stamp canceling machine.

Figure 2 shows a central vertical, seotional view through the device, the printing and inking rollers being shown in dotted lines in one of their positions. Figure 3 shows a front elevation of my i device.

Figure 4: shows a central, sectional View taken on line 4-4 of Flgure 2, showng the y rewinding spindle.

' i Figure 5 shows a detail side view of the plate designed to lock the roll of stamps to one of the spindlesyand Figure 6 shows a sectional, detail view of the limiting device of the inking roller.

In the ac companying drawings, I have used the reference character'A to indicate generally a main rarne. which comprises a base 10 and the side walls 11 and 12. Fixed to the side wall 11 and extending forwardly therefrom is the arm 13. t

The arm 13 is provided with a spindle 14:,

which receives the stamps in their roller' form before they are canceled.

Mounted on the france A and journaled in the side walls 11 and 12 is the shaft 15. Fixed'on the shaft 15 is the platen roller 16. The roller 16 is provided with a covering 17 which is pre'ferably rubber or some other suitable fieXible material.

A spindle 18 is journaled in the side walls p 11 and 12 of the iframe member A and is provided with a crank handle 19 on one end and a contracted portion 20 on its other end. The contracted portion 20 of the spindle 18 causes a shoulder 21 to be formed which rests against the inner side of the wal1'11. The spindle 18 between the walls 11 and 12 is provided with a groove 22, which is designed to receive the end of the roll of stamps for holding them in position when the stamps are started, when being wound upon the spindle 18.

The reference numeral 23 indicates the stamps, which are shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The stamps are first placed upon the spindle 14 and the end is Secured in the groove 22 of the spindle 18. This causes the stamps to pass over the platen roller 16. In order to lock the roll of stamps to the spindlel, I haveiprovided a plate 24:, which is provided with a circular opening25 and a slot 26. The end'of the spindle 14 is provided with an oblong portion 27, which is designed to be received in the slot 26 of the plate 24. After the roll of stamps have been placed upon the spindle 14, and it is desired to place the plate 24 in position to prevent accidental movement of the stamps,

the plate is placed with the opening 25 adjacent to the end of the spindle 14. The plate is then moved until the-opening 25 has received the end of the spindle and the oblong portion 27 registers with the slot 26. By lowering the plate 25 slightly, the oblong portion 27 is received' in the slot 26,' thus locking the plate 24 to the spindle.

The side walls 11 and 12 of-the 'rame 'member A are each provided with a recess 28. Pivotally fixed to the side walls 11 and 12 and extending into the recesses .28 are the side members 29 of'the printi-ng 'roller ;supporting frame 13. The side memto its raised position, that isthe position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 of the drawings. i i

lVhen the 'frame member B is' moved to this position, it is slightly past center, thereby causing the parts when in their raised position to be'held there.

Journaled in the side members 29 is the shaft 36, upon which is fixed the roller 37.

The roller 37 is provided with a printing late 38, which may be ot any suitable typei Usually when the stamps are pre-canceled,

`the name of the station or city is printed upon the stamps. Figure' 3 of the dr awings shows the printed 'matter', which will be printed upon the stamps after they pass bee" low the roller.

In order to provide suitable means for engaging the frame member B whenit is de- *sired to raise it, I have provideda handle 39, which is screw-threaded into the, forward' ends of the side members 29. i

In order to provide ink upon the printing roller, I have provided an ink roller 40,

which is 'preferably made of some soft 'a-b- F rom? the parts just described, it will be seen that when' the stamps 'are passing o-ver the platen roller and below the printing roller, it will cause the two rollers just mentioned to rotate, the printing roller in turn causing the inkroller to rotate. By this method, the printing roller is continuously being inked, as used. f

Near the lo-wer end of the arm 41, I have provided a hub 43. The hub 43 is fixed to the arm 41 and rests adjacent to one of the side members'29 of the frame member B.

In order to limit the pivotal movement of the arm member 41, the hub 43 is provided with a recess 44, which is designed to receive one end of the pin 45. The pin 45 is fixed in the side member 29. By limiting the movement of the ink roller, it will be seen that when the frame member B is raised to the' position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 of the drawings, the inking roller will be held slightly away from the printing roller.

- It will be seen that itis extremely necessary to provide some means, whereby the printing roller and inking roller may be` moved to inoperative position, so that the Operator of'the device will have access to the spindle 18 upon which the stamps are first rolled, after being printed upon.

Afterthe operator has started or threaded the stamps through the spindle 18, then thei have them in their original position, so that they may be readily and easily used upon the .ordinary stamping machine.

In order to re-roll the stamps, I have provided the spindle 46, which is journaled in the sidewalls 11 and 12 ofthe frame member A directly behind the spindle 18.

The spindle 46 is provided with a groove 47, whereby the operator may cause the` spindle to be rotated.

;It wilt-be seen that 'the cranl: handles 10 "and 47 a-re`-`on opposite sides of the'device,

After the stamps have been` rewo und upon -'the spin'd'le 46, in ordr to 'take the stamps so that-,the'two spindles 18 and '46 ma be relatively 'close to' *each other.

'cit of the spindie 46,it is necessary for the I operatorto pull the spin'dle from its beari'ngs in the wall members 11 and 12. 'The stamps will remain in between the wall members 11 and 12 in their rolled form. v

It will be seen that with my device', a great amount of saving will be had by both the postal department, and the user of the e pre-canceled stamps; The postal department saves the expense of stamping each individual letter or parcel, and theuser of the precanceled stamps gets the mail-matter delivered to its'destination in theshortest time possible. e v

Some changes may be made "in the conp st'ruction 'and arrangement' of the various parts of my improved device without departing from the essential 'features and purposes of my invention, and'it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be 'reasonably ncluded within their scope.

I claim as my invention: v '1. In a device of the character described, a frame having a platen rotatably mounted thereon, spindles rotatablymounted on said i frame and paced adjacent. to either side of said platen, one of said spindles being adapt-' ed to receive a roll of stamps, the other of said spindles being adaptedto receive the stamps after they have passed oversaid platen, said last spindle being provided with a groove for receiving the end of the roll of stamps 'in order to start them, a second frame member pivotally mounted on said firstzframe, a prntng roller and inking device mounted in said second framemember, the printing v roller being so adapted that gravity will hold it against the platen, a crank handle llO on 'said second spindle whereby it may be] manually operated for causing the stamps i to pass over said platen and under the printing roller, Whereby an v mpression will be made upon the stamps, said inkingdevice including an ink roller rotatably mounted in an arm pivoted to said second' frame, and

means for lmiting the pivotal movement of* jporting a roll of stamps, asecond rspindle for engaging and winding up the roll of stamps, a crank for rotating the wind-up spindle, a printing roller framepivoted to the main france, in such manner as to be capable, in one position, of being held by gravity toward the platen and also capable of movng upwardly past the Vertical center of the pivot whore it Will be held in substantally uprght position by gravty, the printing roller in the' prnting roller frame designed to co-act With theplaten, an nkng roller and a pv ote d arm to support the ink- "ng roller, said pvoted arm being so positioned that the nkng roller Will engage the prntng platen When the latter is in its op eratve position and will move by gmvty away from the p ntng roller When the latteis in its elevated position, for the purposes stated.

Des Homes, Iowa, March 2, 1920.

CARE-IE A. 

